Untitled 11 is an image from another series taken in an American mental asylum, which opposes the idea of “intention and effect”. In this case having Down Syndrome keeps them away and preserved from additional masks people put on themselves, being naturally very spontaneous and truthful. This photograph different form the other two, is not as formal and cropped into detail, which makes clear sense of a carefully thought choice of composition, to demonstrate this moment of interactivity and involvement between subject and photographer.

This involvement with the subject, aggravated by their conditions at some of the times, preoccupied Diane Arbus as she wrote on the monograph: “I am extremely likeable with them. I think I am kind of two-faced”, using the camera as a license to get access to people’s homes and confidence, she was aware she was photographing a complex type of subject. This image captures a moment that could mean a lot to the subject, as he is at home which may be where he spends most of his time and with his family, in which could be very delicate as well, for the difficulties of a non-adapted house for everyday tasks for instance.

In a way she was using people and exposing what at times were drama, trauma and tragic truth in their personal life. But at the end, “They’ve passed their test in life. They are aristocrats”, like a form of compensation and gratitude of their images and certainly part of their stories being exposed this way; Diane Arbus respected and admired them. This body of work is not so much about technique especially in terms of composition and cropping, Diane Arbus adequate each shot differently depending on the environment and subject, which becomes more important than the image itself. What she maintains is the use of flash, even in daylight which gives the image an extra contrast and makes them look theatrical, and in the context she is photographing is a valid choice to emphasize all the meaning of being nominated a “freak” making stand out even more, attracting the public’s attention. The work is strong for it’s context, the use of imagery to enforce people to face the “other” and their differences, is very clever as human being, we want to see certain bizarreness, flaw to vary from ordinariness. Using this Diane Arbus explored this controversial view and people’s critiques about the freaks making us question about our concepts, going through a vast collection of freaks in which Diane Arbus had to hunt for, to create this body of work.